Hinsdale, IL – Suburban Downs at Hawthorne Race Course will not race the weekend of Jan. 17-18, but the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association announced that the scheduled purse money will be distributed.
With the latest action, Hawthorne has lost six racing programs since the scheduled start of the meet in early January.
The IHHA in a statement said Hawthorne informed the Illinois Racing Board, and that the horsemen’s group agreed with the decision.
“Hawthorne has committed to distributing the purse money equally among all horses entered in each race that was scheduled for this weekend,” the IHHA said. “These funds will be reflected in horsemen’s accounts in the coming days and will be available once the banking issue is resolved. Hawthorne has stated it is confident the situation will be resolved in the upcoming week and intends to resume racing next weekend.”
Entries for the Jan. 24-25 race dates will be taken through Thursday, Jan. 22, at 9 a.m., the IHHA said.
The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, as it has recent weeks, again expressed concern for the Standardbred situation as well as its potential impact on the Thoroughbred meet that begins in late March.
“The continued cancellations are deeply troubling and may cast doubt on our spring Thoroughbred meet,” the ITHA said. “We respectfully reiterate our request of the Illinois Racing Board and/or Hawthorne to illuminate the specifics of this circumstance that directly concerns all of our members—and numerous other individuals whose livelihood is tied to live racing in northern Illinois.”